Business Journal: More Job Seekers Than Jobs

New figures show that the job market is the toughest it’s been in almost five years.

If you need a little bit of a reality check on how bad the economy and the job market are nationwide, here you go -- there are an estimated three job-seekers for every open position, according to the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. That translates to about 9.4 million people looking for work — for only 3.3 million positions open nationwide, the highest ratio of job-seekers to job openings since January 2004. Now, local numbers are not available to determine a ratio between job-seekers and job openings, but the Sacramento region’s jobless rate reached 7.4 percent in August, the highest level in 12 years — and higher than the national unemployment rate.